Cork families of loved ones killed in 2020 road accident haunted by unrepaired crash-damage to wall

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

A West Cork councillor has called for repairs to a roadside wall near Glengarriff where two men died in a car crash five years ago, saying the damaged wall is a constant reminder to the victims’ relatives and friends when they travel on the road.

The tragedy occurred on the Kenmare Road around 2km from Glengarriff village in August 2020 when a car carrying four local men veered off a mountain road and crashed into a swollen roadside stream. Two of the men died in the accident and two survived.

At this week’s meeting of the Western Committee of Cork County Council, Cllr Finbarr Harrington put forward a motion calling for the damaged wall to be repaired and a crash barrier to be erected.

“There's a very sad, emotional and very tragic story attached to this one. So the family and the friends of those victims, they pass this regularly. They find it quite upsetting that the wall hasn't been replaced or repaired in the five years that have passed,” he said.

“What I’m asking is that if it's our responsibility as the local authority that we repair the wall and erect a crash barrier and that if it's the responsibility of TII [Transport Infrastructure Ireland] that we'd lean on them as much as we can to get this done urgently,” the Independent councillor said.

Cllr Harrington said the repairs should be carried out on health and safety grounds to ensure that there isn’t another accident on that part of the busy N71 road between Kenmare and Glengarriff but also because “it would give great peace and solace as well to the families and the friends of the victims that pass this road on a regular basis. The broken wall is a constant reminder to them of the tragic loss they suffered.”

Responding to the motion, Padraig Barrett, Director of Services with the local authority's Roads, Transportation & Area Services department, said the request will be examined by the National Road Design Office of Cork County Council in consultation with TII.

Cllr Danny Collins said he has been pushing for five years to get the wall repaired but the council has responded that it has applied unsuccessfully for TII funding for the repair numerous times. Cllr Joe Carroll said the issue should be raised at an upcoming meeting of Cork councillors with TII.